Why Don't You Stay
by Violet Fairychild
Summary: One shot, 1xR. When tomorrow is uncertain, the night is all you have.


Why Don't You Stay

a fic by Vi

Pairing: 1xR

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.

Author's Note: Takes place immediately after Heero blows up the Presidential Residence in Endless Waltz. This was originally written about four years back, as a songfic, but the lyrics have been removed and minor corrections have been made.

Relena hated hospitals. She hated how busy they were and she hated how they smelled, and most of all she hated being in them. So it was a testament to her feelings for him, really, that she was sitting in a hospital room and had been for the last five hours. Five long, sleepless hours. The doctors had tried to admit her as well, but she wouldn't hear of it. She was a little tired, and a little bruised, but it was nothing a long hot bath wouldn't solve-and she would take one as soon as she got home.

The wastebasket was filled with little Styrofoam coffee cups, but the caffeine did nothing to keep her alert. It only worsened the nervous feeling in her stomach, and made her twitchy. But she was awake, and she would stay that way until he was awake too.

There were so many other things she should be doing; talking to the press, for one. Relena was surprised they hadn't found a way to trail her in here. It was the middle of the night, though, and she knew she could look forward to being hounded in the morning. Briefly she toyed with the idea of making a break for the colonies and living under an assumed name, but decided instead to take an extended vacation once things had settled down. After all, who else would keep an eye on things?

A metallic clatter just outside the door made her jump, and an orderly cursed as he wrestled with a stubborn gurney. Shaken out of her half-conscious state, Relena tilted her head from side to side and winced when it popped loudly. Quietly she stretched her sore limbs and gazed out the window, where the stars still shone over the horizon. It wouldn't be daylight for another few hours.

He had come from those stars. Falling from the sky like a creature out of a fairy tale, right into her life. This world was not for him, nor was he a part of it; he didn't belong with her. She knew these things, and she knew what she had to do. Not that knowing made it any easier on her.

Her eyes landed again on the still figure on the bed. Deep in her mind was the realization that staying could only serve to make things harder, and it prodded at her conscience. Relena painfully unfolded her legs and rose from her chair. Quietly she crossed the room until she was standing over him. For a few long moments she studied him, watching his chest rise and fall and listening to the beeping of the monitors. Even in sleep he didn't look entirely peaceful; his brow was still furrowed as if in thought, his lower lip jutting out just the tiniest bit, and Relena was suddenly struck by how much he resembled an impetuous child. Smiling faintly, she brushed an imaginary speck of dust off his face and turned to leave.

* * *

Heero was floating in a vague nothingness. He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been there for, and he didn't know if he was supposed to leave. All he knew was that he had done his job. His final mission had been completed, and he could just let go. Just let go and fade into the haze that clouded his mind…

Wait…pressure. A touch. It was feather light, like butterfly wings on his cheek, but it surged through his nerve endings like an electric shock. Other sensations filtered through the haze. Perfume, gentle and feminine…the sound of another person breathing…strange, Heero hadn't realized he'd felt lonely until he realized he wasn't alone anymore.

The delicate scent of the perfume brought back a memory; falling, being caught by-who? The same person was here now, Heero was certain, but it was so hard to think straight, he couldn't find her name…

Footsteps now, a faint clicking of heels on a tiled floor. She was going away! He was going to be alone again! Heero's eyes snapped open, and he drew a shuddering breath. "Relena."

Relena gasped, turning around so quickly she lost her footing. Desperately she caught herself on the chair. "Heero."

The boy on the hospital bed was watching her, his eyes burning with emotion. "You're leaving."

Unable to meet his intense gaze, Relena looked down at the floor. "I didn't feel it was appropriate to stay."

He was quiet for a moment, thinking about her words. His response was chosen carefully. "I want you to stay," he said.

She still could not bring herself to look him in the eye. "I bought you a shuttle ticket," she said. "If you need transportation to the spaceport then I can-"

He cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "Why would I need a shuttle ticket?"

Relena lifted her eyes to meet his. "Because I know you don't want to stay here."

"Do you want me to stay?"

Her eyes were sad. "That isn't the issue, Heero."

He was quiet again. "You're right," he said softly.

Again she turned to leave. Again he stopped her.

"You don't have to leave yet," he said.

Relena was three feet from the door, and four feet from the hospital bed. Three more steps and she would be out of the room, out of Heero's life.

And she would be alone.

"The sun will be up in a couple of hours," she said.

"You can leave when the sun comes up," he replied.

Slowly she turned away from the door, her resolve melting away. The iron bands that had been tightening around her chest dissolved. She took one step towards him. Then another.

"I can leave when the sun comes up," she repeated. He nodded solemnly. Gently she rested her weight on the edge of the bed. He reached up and removed the IV needle from his hand, throwing the tubing off the small cot.

She stretched out to her full length next to him, taking up as little space as she could. Carefully she slipped one arm behind his neck, then placed the other over his chest, settling her hand over his heart. He sighed as the warmth of her body soaked into his skin. Without disturbing her position, he turned his head, letting his face come to rest within inches of hers. They lay silently, breathing the same air, listening to their heartbeats. She would leave when the sun came up, and so would he.

But not yet.


End file.
